Bilet pherat (Alternate title: England returned),1921, 68mins


Produced by: Indo- British Films, Calcutta
Language: Bengali and Hindi intertitles
Color: Black and white
Type: Silent
Technical details: 4000 ft., Nitrate
Story, Screenplay, Direction: Nitish C. Lahiry
Cast: Dhirendranath Ganguly, Sushiladevi, Manmath Pal, Kunjalal Chakrabarty, Usharani Devi
Camera: Jyotish Sarkar


One of the earliest examples of broad, deliberate satire made in the mould of the Hollywood slapstick comedies of the time, ‘Bilet Pherat’ (1921) lampoons the trend of Indians travelling abroad (in those days, usually to Britain) for higher education in a slavish, hankering imitation of their colonial masters and returning to their native land only to criticise its customs and traditions, especially those of love and matrimony.


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